Bank of England Money and Credit – November 2024
Overview
These monthly statistics on the amount of, and interest rates on, borrowing and deposits by households and businesses are used by the Bank’s policy committees to understand economic trends and developments in the UK banking system.
Key points:
- Net borrowing of mortgage debt by individuals fell by £1.0 billion, to £2.5 billion in November.
- Net mortgage approvals for house purchases fell to 65,700 in November. Similarly, approvals for remortgaging decreased to 31,200.
- Net consumer credit borrowing by individuals has seen little change at £0.9 billion in November.
- During November, private non-financial corporations (PNFCs) borrowed, on net, £1.5 billion of finance, compared to £1.8 billion of net repayments in October.
- The net flow of sterling money (known as M4ex) was -£2.2 billion in November, compared to £17.0 billion in October. The net outflow of M4ex was driven by non-intermediate other financial corporations’ (NIOFCs’) holdings of money, which decreased by £2.2 billion.
- The net flow of sterling net lending to private sector companies and households (M4Lex) was -£2.1 billion in November, compared to £11.1 billion in the previous month. Within this, NIOFCs account for £5.1 billion of net repayments in November.
Lending to and deposits from individuals
Mortgage lending:
Net borrowing of mortgage debt by individuals fell by £1.0 billion to £2.5 billion in November, following an increase in net borrowing of £1.0 billion in October. The annual growth rate for net mortgage lending rose to 1.3% in November from 1.1% in October, continuing the upward trend observed since April 2024. Gross lending increased to £20.7 billion in November, from £20.3 billion in October, and little has changed in gross repayments at £18.0 billion in November.
Net mortgage approvals (that is, approvals net of cancellations) for house purchases, which is an indicator of future borrowing, decreased by 2,400 to 65,700 in November, but remained above their previous 12-month average of 60,400. Likewise, approvals for remortgaging (which only capture remortgaging with a different lender) decreased by 300 to 31,200 in November but remained above their previous 12-month average of 30,000 (Chart 1).
The ‘effective’ interest rate – the actual interest paid – on newly drawn mortgages decreased by 11 basis points, to 4.50% in November, the lowest since April 2023. Over the same period, the rate on the outstanding stock of mortgages increased from 3.78% in October to 3.80% in November, a further series high.
Read the full report here
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